II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1072 

To require the Supreme Court of the United States to promulgate a code 

of ethics. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2015 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Supreme Court of the United States to 

promulgate a code of ethics. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supreme Court Ethics 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) In Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 556 

9 U.S. 868 (2009), Justice Kennedy, writing for the 

10 Court, stated that ‘‘[judicial codes of conduct] serve 


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•S 1072 IS

1 to maintain the integrity of the judiciary and the 

2 rule of law’’. 

3 (2) The Code of Conduct for United States 

4 Judges (referred to in this subsection as the 

5 ‘‘Code’’) applies to all Federal judges except Justices 

6 of the Supreme Court. Justices of the Supreme 

7 Court are not formally bound by any code of con8 duct. Chief Justice John Roberts noted in the 2011 

9 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary that 

10 while the Judicial Conference, which promulgates 

11 the Code, does not have authority to bind the Su12 preme Court, the Code is nonetheless ‘‘the starting 

13 point and a key source of guidance for the Justices 

14 as well as their lower court colleagues’’. 

15 (3) Congress has the authority to regulate the 

16 administration of the Supreme Court of the United 

17 States. For example, Congress sets the number of 

18 Justices who sit on the Supreme Court and how 

19 many constitute a quorum, the term of the court, 

20 meaning the dates the court will be in session, and 

21 the salaries of the Justices. Additionally, the Ethics 

22 in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) requires 

23 most high-level Federal officials in all 3 branches, 

24 including the President, Vice President, cabinet 

25 members, Justices of the Supreme Court, and MemVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 May 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1072.IS S1072

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1 bers of Congress, to file annual financial disclosure 

2 statements. 

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to apply 

4 a code of ethics to Justices who sit on the Supreme Court 

5 of the United States, being mindful of their preeminence 

6 in the Federal judiciary. 

7 SEC. 3. SUPREME COURT CODE OF ETHICS. 

8 The Supreme Court of the United States shall, not 

9 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

10 Act, promulgate a code of ethics for the Justices of the 

11 Supreme Court that shall include the 5 canons of the Code 

12 of Conduct for United States Judges adopted by the Judi13 cial Conference of the United States, with any amend14 ments or modifications thereto that the Supreme Court 

15 determines appropriate. 

Æ 


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